Seattle, we heard a rumor that Augustine was messing with witchcraft again. Not that magic should be capable of altering a vampire’s mind like this. But maybe Augustine managed to tap into something really powerful. Who knows?”
“Magic,” Lu was muttering. “Jeez.”
“Would anyone else want to harm me besides my maker?” Alastair asked quietly.
“Oh yeah. You have a whole list of enemies, including every vampire everywhere. They all despise you for turning on your own kind,” Joey said. “The few remaining nephilim also want you dead. There’s a small group of them called the Order that’s always hunting you. To them you’re Public Enemy Number One, a super strong vampire with knowledge of their world. That makes you a huge threat.”
Then Joey shrugged and added, “Short-sighted if you ask me, since you go around doing their job for them by killing other vampires. It’s stupid for human vampire hunters to go after you for the same reason, but some have made killing you their personal mission. So anyway yeah, no shortage of enemies.”
Alastair exhaled slowly, then said, “Yet out of all those enemies, what makes you suspect Augustine is responsible for whatever happened to my memories?”
“Because everyone else would’ve just gone with a nice pointy stick through your heart.”
“So maybe I need to find this Augustine person and have a talk with him.”
Joey shook his head. “Uh, no. Augustine’s extremely dangerous. You can’t just go talk to him.”
“Then what do I do?”
“A witch could tell us if magic was used on you. And if it does turn out to be a spell that knocked out your memories, maybe they could lift it.”
Lu shook her head and muttered, “Jeez. Witches .” Then she asked, “Do we have any witches in Ashland?”
Joey clicked his tongue. “Probably just the wanna-be variety. I know where we can find a real warlock, though.”
“And where’s that?” Lu wanted to know.
“San Francisco. His name’s Bryn Maddock.”
“What did you say his name is?” Lu asked.
“Bryn. Rhymes with grin,” Joey said, grinning at her as if to illustrate.
Alastair asked, “Do you think I can trust him?”
“For sure. He’s a good friend of ours.”
“Ok,” said Alastair, rising to his feet. “So I need to go to San Francisco and try to get some answers. And as quickly as possible, given how many people are apparently trying to kill me. Right now I wouldn’t even recognize any of my enemies, which makes me incredibly vulnerable.”
“Sure,” said Joey, rising too and holding Alastair’s gaze. “We can go to San Francisco. But you didn’t drink enough earlier, you still need to rebuild your strength. So we can go right after you have some more to eat.”
Lu made a nervous noise, and Joey sighed dramatically as he shot her a look and said, “Not you, Cupcake.” Then in one swift move, he tore his own wrist open on his suddenly extended fangs and held it in front of Alastair’s face.
For a moment, Alastair considered refusing. But then the scent of blood slammed into his senses, overwhelming him, and without thinking he clutched Joey’s arm and drank deeply.
Lu turned away with a shiver. And Joey pressed his eyes shut, grinding his teeth as he braced himself against the fireplace mantel with his free hand.
It lasted only a minute or two. Lu turned back when she heard one of them exhale. Alastair was standing with his back to both of them, his head bowed.
Joey quickly licked his wrist, which immediately stopped the bleeding. He looked vulnerable, upset for just a moment, but he composed himself quickly.
And then suddenly his entire body quivered, his alert eyes scanning the windows as he said in low voice, “You did that just in time, Allie.”
“Why?” asked Alastair, turning to look at him.
“Because,” Joey replied, “they just found us.”
Chapter Eight
Everything started happening really fast after that. Joey said, “You feeling
“Magic,” Lu was muttering. “Jeez.”
“Would anyone else want to harm me besides my maker?” Alastair asked quietly.
“Oh yeah. You have a whole list of enemies, including every vampire everywhere. They all despise you for turning on your own kind,” Joey said. “The few remaining nephilim also want you dead. There’s a small group of them called the Order that’s always hunting you. To them you’re Public Enemy Number One, a super strong vampire with knowledge of their world. That makes you a huge threat.”
Then Joey shrugged and added, “Short-sighted if you ask me, since you go around doing their job for them by killing other vampires. It’s stupid for human vampire hunters to go after you for the same reason, but some have made killing you their personal mission. So anyway yeah, no shortage of enemies.”
Alastair exhaled slowly, then said, “Yet out of all those enemies, what makes you suspect Augustine is responsible for whatever happened to my memories?”
“Because everyone else would’ve just gone with a nice pointy stick through your heart.”
“So maybe I need to find this Augustine person and have a talk with him.”
Joey shook his head. “Uh, no. Augustine’s extremely dangerous. You can’t just go talk to him.”
“Then what do I do?”
“A witch could tell us if magic was used on you. And if it does turn out to be a spell that knocked out your memories, maybe they could lift it.”
Lu shook her head and muttered, “Jeez. Witches .” Then she asked, “Do we have any witches in Ashland?”
Joey clicked his tongue. “Probably just the wanna-be variety. I know where we can find a real warlock, though.”
“And where’s that?” Lu wanted to know.
“San Francisco. His name’s Bryn Maddock.”
“What did you say his name is?” Lu asked.
“Bryn. Rhymes with grin,” Joey said, grinning at her as if to illustrate.
Alastair asked, “Do you think I can trust him?”
“For sure. He’s a good friend of ours.”
“Ok,” said Alastair, rising to his feet. “So I need to go to San Francisco and try to get some answers. And as quickly as possible, given how many people are apparently trying to kill me. Right now I wouldn’t even recognize any of my enemies, which makes me incredibly vulnerable.”
“Sure,” said Joey, rising too and holding Alastair’s gaze. “We can go to San Francisco. But you didn’t drink enough earlier, you still need to rebuild your strength. So we can go right after you have some more to eat.”
Lu made a nervous noise, and Joey sighed dramatically as he shot her a look and said, “Not you, Cupcake.” Then in one swift move, he tore his own wrist open on his suddenly extended fangs and held it in front of Alastair’s face.
For a moment, Alastair considered refusing. But then the scent of blood slammed into his senses, overwhelming him, and without thinking he clutched Joey’s arm and drank deeply.
Lu turned away with a shiver. And Joey pressed his eyes shut, grinding his teeth as he braced himself against the fireplace mantel with his free hand.
It lasted only a minute or two. Lu turned back when she heard one of them exhale. Alastair was standing with his back to both of them, his head bowed.
Joey quickly licked his wrist, which immediately stopped the bleeding. He looked vulnerable, upset for just a moment, but he composed himself quickly.
And then suddenly his entire body quivered, his alert eyes scanning the windows as he said in low voice, “You did that just in time, Allie.”
“Why?” asked Alastair, turning to look at him.
“Because,” Joey replied, “they just found us.”
Chapter Eight
Everything started happening really fast after that. Joey said, “You feeling
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